On behalf of the executive committee and board of the Association of Cable Communicators, I’m pleased to have this opportunity to write regarding our organization.
As you may know, the ACC board unanimously approved a new slate of officers to strengthen and solidify our executive committee – including Rosa Gatti of ESPN, Anthony Surratt of Time Warner Cable, Sandy Colony of Insight, Turner’s Misty Skedgell and Annie Howell of Planet Green/Discovery. I also want to thank outgoing ACC president, Peggy Ballard, of Cisco Systems, who retired in September 2009 and is now pursuing interests outside of the cable telecommunications industry.
Peggy was an active member of the ACC board for many years, a guiding force behind the strategic refocusing of our organization around communications, and a strong leader during her tenure as ACC President. Please join me in thanking Peggy for her contributions to ACC and wishing her success and happiness in her future endeavors.
This is a key moment for ACC. In late October came together for our annual meeting, FORUM, but it was a very different event this year – conducted in Denver along with other industry groups as part of Cable Connections Fall. All industry organizations are facing challenges, as a result of consolidation, a difficult economy and other factors.
During numerous meetings and conference calls over the summer, our board and executive committee discussed the value of ACC as a group laser focused on providing professional development, tools and practical training to cable communicators. The strong consensus that emerged was that ACC is a lean and financially sound organization uniquely positioned to deliver real benefits to those who go to work every day and speak for the industry – across a wide range of specific job functions and companies. And one of the great underlying strengths of ACC is its diverse and involved board and leadership team, comprised of real-world cable communicators.
I’d like to share the accompanying document, which was developed to articulate the value and need for ACC, and to communicate the core strengths of the organization, the programs we are focused on and the kinds of benefits our leadership team is committed to delivering to ACC members. But our evolution is very much a work in progress, and as your new president I want to establish an open dialogue through which all ACC members are encouraged to help strengthen the association by suggesting new programs and services, refinements to existing initiatives, or simply recommending a topic for an online chat or future ACC Brief.
This is your organization and it only works and has value if it helps you do your job, raise your game and achieve professional objectives at an even higher level. Whether it’s attending our annual Communications Institute in New York, participating with industry peers in a chat on our Web site, reading through an ACC Brief to pick up a new tip or tactic or reviewing one of the functional chapters in the recently-updated ACC Communications Handbook, we’re only successful if we’re providing tools, training and resources that elevate the level of communications work in support of our industry.
If you desire to get in touch for any reason, I can be reached at jmaiella@cablevision.com or on the phone at 516-803-3947. I would be happy to hear from you.
Jim Maiella
President, Association of Cable CommunicatorsVice President of Media Relations, Cable and Communications
Cablevision Systems Corporation